The security of the Cloud, is the real issue, can you really trust your data and applications being co-mingled with others data and applications, especially when you have to comply with PCI/HIPAA/GLBA/Sox and other regulations ( especially PCI which has some stringent controls and makes classifying data and there associated systems and the level of protect to data and system integrity quite hard to get around)
There has been plenty of articles written about Cloud security, and its pitfalls, so again, to each there own, if they think cloud computing is a good thing for your business and you have the risk appetite for it, then by all means go for it. If you are bound by regulations aforementioned above, you better have a serious look at what the letter of the law says and what you need to comply by in regulations, and ensure that the data you are going to put in this cloud, complies to those regulations, no matter where in the cloud it is at, and no matter what other data it might or might not be co-mingled with. Personally, cloud computing in its present state is flawed, abeit if not seriously. Why would you let your data and applications outside your control? I love how industry comes up with these lovely buzzwords and ideas, and force feed it down executives throats till the point they think it's a great idea, and they try and sell us, the people that know the architecture of properly secured systems, and look at that, and equate it to using toilet paper to wrap your house in, in the middle of a tornado to ensure it won't get blown away. Again, not a risk I would take either, Z Edward Ziots Network Engineer Lifespan Organization MCSE,MCSA,MCP+I, ME, CCA, Security +, Network + ezi...@lifespan.org Phone:401-639-3505 ________________________________ From: Steven M. Caesare [mailto:scaes...@caesare.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 10:32 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Cloud computing... your opinions One of the models many are exploring is internal cloud... or hybrid, which brings some of the benefit without exposing the issues related to external reliability (or competence). -sc From: Tim Vander Kooi [mailto:tvanderk...@expl.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 10:21 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: RE: Cloud computing... your opinions Our opinion here is that it is an acceptable solution for no- business-critical applications (spam filtering being the biggest), but for anything that is critical to operations it is not considered and never will be. "Cloud computing" makes my business IT systems only as reliable as the skills of the backhoe operator digging around my telco's line on my neighbor's property. Not a position we will ever be comfortable putting ourselves in. Tim From: Alex Eckelberry [mailto:al...@sunbelt-software.com] Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:05 AM To: NT System Admin Issues Subject: Cloud computing... your opinions We're working on cloud computing initiatives (like everyone), and I'm also doing a fair amount of research into the area. (Of course, the whole idea of "cloud computing" is itself fairly silly, when it's just a renaming of the concept of a network-connected computer. But whatever, it's the hot topic.) There are areas where it makes sense, such as email filtering. Web filtering, well maybe not so much. CRM (like SalesForce.com), makes sense. I'm curious -- what are your thoughts on cloud computing? What might be the security questions you would ask your cloud computing vendors? What irks you about it? What is good about it? Alex Alex Eckelberry, CEO Sunbelt Software 33 N. Garden Avenue, Clearwater, FL 33755 p: 727-562-0101 x220 e: a...@sunbeltsoftware.com <mailto:a...@sunbeltsoftware.com> MSN: alex...@hotmail.com <mailto:alex...@hotmail.com> w: www.sunbeltsoftware.com <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com> b: www.sunbeltblog.com <http://www.sunbeltblog.com> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
